SFE Investment Counsel Has $6.06 Million Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

SFE Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,098 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. Prudential Financial accounts for about 1.3% of SFE Investment Counsel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PRU. Barclays upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.46.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $110.82 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $118.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $104.02 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The stock has a market cap of $39.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 69.61%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.